Las Cruces woman says strange man hid in her SUV, made her drive across town

by Jessica Gonzalez

File photo

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – —

Police are investigating an incident in which a man allegedly got into a woman’s SUV sometime before she went to work and ordered her to drive across town.

Dan Trujillo, spokesman for the Las Cruces Police Department, said the incident happened earlier this month.

A 28-year-old woman who lives in the Sonoma Ranch area said she was on her way to work in the morning when an unknown masked man suddenly got up from the back seat.

She told officers the man had a knife and ordered her to drive him into Mesilla.

The woman said the SUV had been parked in the garage all night. It is unknown how the man got access to her vehicle.

Once they arrived in the 4300 block of Highway 28, the man ordered the woman to pull over on the side of the road, Trujillo said. The man then got out of the vehicle and the woman quickly drove to a safe location and called 911.

The woman told police she had not been physically harmed during the ordeal but had feared for her life.

The suspect is described as a light-skinned man who speaks clear English.

Anyone with information on the incident or the identity of the man is asked to call the Police Department at 575-526-0795.